Spellmans Strike Again

The Spellmans Strike Again

by Lisa Lutz

I’m Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation, smart reviews for modern readers on Sirius XM Book Radio. The books are The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz.

Just to let you know, this is going to be a love fest. I absolutely adore Lisa’s writing  her bone dry wit can turn the most grotesquely uncomfortable family dinner snortingly funny. I’ve followed the adventures of the Spellman clan through the four books  so far  in the series and I am proud to report only the smallest amount of hugging and learning. Our heroine Isabel is now 32 and is finally taking over the family detective agency. Mother Olivia is blackmailing Izzy into dating lawyers with some incriminating prom pictures from 1994. Izzy’s current boyfriend, Connor the hot Irish bartender, is not amused. Little sister Rae is now old enough to run a small South American country, should she wish to do so. Will she use her considerable power for good or evil? And Izzy’s octogenarian lawyer Morty chimes in just often enough to be thoroughly confusing.

As usual, the extremely convoluted plot is less important than watching this gallery of the unusual bounce off each other. And as usual, the Spellmans find each other infinitely more interesting to investigate than the cases they’re working on. But even with the outlandish behavior and inter-familial blood fueds, Lutz manages to work in some genuine emotion  no gushy stuff of course, but I got the idea that by the end of this latest installment, Isabel may  just may  be growing up. A little. Maybe.

(Incidentally, Rae is using her powers for good at the moment, getting involved with The Innocence Project.)

(Also, we may see the Spellmans on the small screen, as ABC and the executive producer of House are working on the pilot right now. Good luck, Lutz!)